Weapons of Mass Distraction

There’s a show in the UK called Speed. In it they tested the difference between someone driving straight, and then the same after they’d smoked marijuana.

It turns out that the guy drove BETTER under the influence than when he wasn’t. I can sort of back that up but my experience is with alcohol. My friend Chris couldn’t drive for shit when he was sober, but put a couple beers in him and he drove like a pro. We could never explain it but now I have a better idea why. He was a bit more relaxed but at the same time a little paranoid about getting stopped (Even in the early 80’s it was possible to get pulled over for drunk driving, though the limits weren’t quite so ridiculous back then, I mean honestly, .08? I recall it being .12 when I was a kid. No greater incidence of drunk driving then than there is now.

Anyhow, I won’t drive after I’ve had a couple drinks. Fortunately I live in a place where I can either imbibe at a bar, pub, or restaurant and either walk home or take public transit.

But this video is very interesting. It appears that driving under the influence of marijuana really doesn’t have a negative effect on ones driving ability. Granted, this isn’t at all a scientific study but I’d love to see someone do such a thing. We’re finally seeing and end to the FUD spread by ONDCP . This is just one such video: